Boma at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

The buffet at Boma's is not for the fair tongued diner, or for those lacking bravado in their meal experiences. It is an African themed buffet and there is very little at the stations one is used to seeing at a typical American restaurant.

First, the decor is very fitting to the entire atmosphere of Disney's Animal Kingdom, right down to the African employee teaching younger kids to play African drums while they wait for a table. It is not overdone though, very classy and simple while still very much in theme.

The food is absolutely incredible! Though the only "authentic" (as in "been-there-done-that") African food I have tasted is from Egypt the rest of the continent is varied. My dad wondered if sugar cane is not produced in Africa as there is a lot of coconut used in the food, as a sweetner often. Many of the dishes were actually very sweet, whether with coconut, cinnamon, or others. Those that were not sweet were done with various spices, lots of curry and cumin...again, not for the faint of palate! None of the food had a bland or simple taste. There is a lot of fruits and sald options available, but not the salads that people usually see...such as watermelon rind salad and couscous salad.

Some of my favorites were the white bean hummus, curry chicken soup, encrusted salmon, spiced chicken, and coconut rice. I also loved the falafel, however it was much softer and...I guess "creamier" than that which I had in Egypt. My personal recommendation is to try a little bit of everything, because again, most of the options are not like anything one is used to coming across in a dining experience. I also tried the one non-alcoholic beverage, which was pina colada with raspberry puree...very delicious!

Now there is an "American" section of the buffet line, but it was not one I touched...when I dine ethnically that is the entire purpose of my experience. However I did notice there were french fries and spaghetti and meatballs there. My parents both tried the spaghetti and said the sauce was extremely tasty.

As far as desserts went there were lots of options. Banana bread pudding with vanilla sauce, mango tarts, strawberry tarts, zebra domes, casava cake, and several others. To note, several of the dessert options stated they had alcohol in them, whether it was cooked with or still potent I am not sure. Again, the best recommendation I have to is to try a small piece of each!

Disney lists this restaurant in their moderate price range. The adult price for the buffet is $25.99, which is very acceptable for Disney park dining. The drink I ordered was $5.99. I absolutely recommend that anyone who is an adventurous diner, such as myself, try out this restaurant. Both my parents and myself said there was nothing we tried that we did not like, absolutely delicious! And very very different than anything I have ever tried before!

GO TO BOMA!